In a veiled attack on the Congress, Trinamool Congress chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday that her party would not bow to those in power, who turned arrogant.
“We bow our heads only to maa, mati, manush (mother, soil, people — her party’s slogan), not to those in power who have turned arrogant,” Ms. Banerjee said at a function in the city.
She said she could “always hiss” if and when the need arose, just as in Sri Ramakrishna’s parable of the snake that had been prohibited from biting but not hissing at those throwing stones at it.
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On Friday, at a congregation in North 24 Parganas district, Ms. Banerjee said: “I roar when faced with threats. I am not afraid … For as long as I live I will live like a tigress.”
The remark on the “arrogance of power” was made hours after she raised questions on her Facebook page on “misuse of power of [the] chair to finish [the] Aam Aadmi.”
“I want to ask — what is the definition of Aam Aadmi? What is the definition of democracy? Isn’t it becoming clear that use of the name of Aam Aadmi, and misuse of the power of the chair, is to finish the Aam Aadmi? Is it the game plan?”
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Even as she referred to the financial constraints her government is facing, Ms. Banerjee said there could be no compromise on the pride of the State.
“We are poor and don’t have much resources, but our pride is paramount, and we cannot compromise on it.”